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HEM (Household Expenditure Measure) is a benchmark used by Australian banks to set a minimum living expense figure when assessing home loan applications. It's based on ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) data about what households actually spend.When you declare your living exp
You can declare your actual expenses, but the bank will use HEM if it's higher. Declaring artificially low expenses won't increase your borrowing power — it may trigger additional verification.
Most major banks use HEM or a similar benchmark. Some lenders use their own internal expense benchmarks that may be higher or lower. A broker can identify lenders with more favourable expense assessment methods for your household type.
HEM is updated periodically based on new ABS data, typically annually. Increases in HEM directly reduce borrowing power across the market.
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